Institution:
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic MedicineResearchers:
Claude E. Gagna, Ph.D., associate professor of life sciences, New York Institute of Technology
Impact:
Discovered how to immobilize intact double-stranded (ds-), multi-stranded or alternative DNA and RNA on one microarray. This immobilization allows scientists to duplicate the environment of a cell, and study, examine, and experiment with human, bacterial and viral genes. This invention provides the methodology to analyze more than 150,000 non-denatured genes. Gagna’s discovery helps scientists understand how transitions in DNA structure regulate gene expression (B-DNA to Z-DNA), and how DNA-protein, and DNA-drug interactions regulate genes, aiding in genetic screening, clinical diagnosis, forensics, DNA synthesis-sequencing and biodefense.
Timeline:
Invented in 1991, DNA microarrays have become one of the most powerful research tools, enabling scientists to perform thousands of experiments with incredible accuracy and speed. Gagna’s findings were published in Medical Hypotheses, May 2006 (67:1099-1114).